Classical Greek and Roman altars, a witches’ altar from a sabbath, the altar to Bel or Baal, a mysterious sacred grove, and a Greek mathematician kidnapped and killed by a Christian mob.
Kauffmann
The first transformed into a Lotus Tree for picking lotus flowers; the second dissolved in her own tears to become a spring; the third changing gender in time for their wedding.
How a young man tricked a young woman into making a vow to marry. When attempts to marry her to another failed, they were finally united.
One of King Priam’s sons falls in love with a Trojan woman late in the Trojan War. When Hector is about to duel with Achilles, what could possibly go wrong?
For 20 years, Boydell’s Shakespeare Gallery tried to establish an English School of History Painting. Or was it just a ploy to make money from prints?
Thought to be his first play, it hasn’t been painted much, but those who have are notable, including William Holman Hunt’s masterpiece.
Pastellist like Rosalba Carriera led the way in making marks to create the illusion of finely detailed fabrics. This contrasts with smooth and detailed faces.
When he died 200 years ago today, he was honoured with burial in Saint Paul’s Cathedral, London. Not bad for an American painter.
A founder member of the Royal Academy in 1768, she was precocious, successful, commissioned by the royal family, and almost completely forgotten. She died 200 years ago, on 2 May.
West turns to a series of more classical mythological stories for his paintings between 1792 and 1802. These include Shakespeare, the Bible, and the first novel.
The Eclectic Light Company 